From the Trenches World Report

Daily Mail – by Lee Boyce

The country’s biggest building society was hit with a systems failure today that prevented customers checking their current account online and showed savings balances as zero.

The glitch in Nationwide’s online banking lasted only an hour and affected a ‘small’ number of customers – but lender will be embarrassed as it tries to attract current account customers now more inclined to switch banks after new rules have made it easier.   Continue reading “Nationwide online banking glitch shows savings accounts as empty – just as customers look to switch from rival banks”

Science Daily

The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Soitec, CEA-Leti and the Helmholtz Center Berlin jointly announced today having achieved a new world record for the conversion of sunlight into electricity using a new solar cell structure with four solar subcells. Surpassing competition after only over three years of research, and entering the roadmap at world class level, a new record efficiency of 44.7% was measured at a concentration of 297 suns. This indicates that 44.7% of the solar spectrum’s energy, from ultraviolet through to the infrared, is converted into electrical energy. This is a major step towards reducing further the costs of solar electricity and continues to pave the way to the 50% efficiency roadmap.   Continue reading “World Record Solar Cell With 44.7% Efficiency”

Randy Hilarski, Sept. 26, 2013

This morning the National Bank of Panama announced that it was suspending all services until Tuesday the 1st of October. The National Bank of Panama says that the reason is to upgrade systems. The Banking Holiday in Panama was announced this am.

This system wide shutdown has country wide implications. The National Bank of Panama did not warn the people before making the announcement and shutting down the banks. The people do not have access to ATM’s either. We received word of this from family members first. This weekend is payday for people across Panama.   Continue reading “Banking Holiday in Panama Announced!”

Pleasant Ridge

“I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.” — John Adams
“[L]iberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood.” — John Adams, 1765  Continue reading “Famous Quotes of the American Revolution”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

Greek government authorities are on alert after a union of Greek army reservists of Special Forces issued a statement urging the Greek administration to step down and make way for a national unity government. As Keep Talking Greece notes, the statement on the union’ website included 15 demands – including the resignation of the Greek President – and urged people to gather at the infamous Syntagma Square on Saturday. The statement was interpreted by some as a call to a “coup d’etat” – denied by the union – but prompted Greece’s Supreme Court to meet to discuss it.   Continue reading “Greece On The Verge? Military Special Forces Have 15 Demands… Or Else”

Cosmic Convergence

The China Syndrome Morphs into “The Japan Syndrome”

Never before in the modern era has humankind been confronted with a nuclear disaster the likes of Fukushima. Truly, Japan has become the location of the greatest nuclear catastrophe in history, one that has defied countless attempts to resolve it. Although it was once imagined to occur in China on the silver screen, Japan has experienced the actual “China Syndrome” — an apocalyptic nuclear meltdown(s). Once again, Japan is the site of an unparalleled atomic event whose aftermath has no end in sight.   Continue reading “FUKUSHIMA: A Nuclear Catastrophe of Epic Proportions”

Washington’s Blog – by DavidSwanson

1. President Obama’s opening lines at the U.N. on Tuesday looked down on people who would think to settle disputes with war. Obama was disingenuously avoiding the fact that earlier this month he sought to drop missiles into a country to “send a message” but was blocked by the U.S. Congress, the U.N., the nations of the world, and popular opposition — after which Obama arrived at diplomacy as a last resort.   Continue reading “Top 45 Lies in Obama’s Speech at UN”

Fox News 

Krokodil, a flesh-eating drug which first surfaced in Russia more than a decade ago, has reportedly been found in the United States.

Similar to morphine or heroin, krokodil is made by mixing codeine with substances like gasoline, paint thinner, oil or alcohol. That mixture is then injected into a vein, potentially causing an addict’s skin to turn greenish, scaly and eventually rot away.  Continue reading “First cases of flesh-eating drug Krokodil surface in US”